the Retreat

Posted by bert at 09:06 AM on May 3, 2004.

They have won

The terrorists have won, or at least what they think... It's unfortunate that I agree with them. We put our tails between our legs and handed over control of fallujah's military operations to an Iraqi commander.

""Although the militiamen were scheduled to take over checkpoints and patrol duties from Marine units Friday, many of those tasks appeared to go unfulfilled Saturday. Several of the militiamen, clad in street clothes and toting battered AK-47 rifles, said they were still waiting for orders from their commanders. But as they waited, many said their first priority was to rejoice.


"We won," said one of the militiamen, a former soldier who gave his name only as Abu Abdullah, meaning the father of Abdullah. "We didn't want the Americans to enter the city and we succeeded.""

....

""The resistance will not fight us. They will not shoot at us," said a former army colonel who stood next to seven other militiamen, their faces covered by scarves. Instead of confronting them, the former colonel said he expected many of the foreign fighters to leave Fallujah and conduct operations in other parts of Iraq. Military officials estimate that there are 200 foreign fighters in the city."

now the resistance and the militia in charge are one in the same...
"Conway acknowledged that some of the participants would be people who fought against his Marines over the past month. "We think that some of them were inside the city and prepared to defend the city," he said."


sad day... that went without TOO much notice in the US. but this, i assume was treated with much fervor in Iraq, especially by the terrorists. Now they will be MORE determined, because they know this one important thing.

If they cause enough death and destruction, they can convince us to do what they want. Pat Tillman is now rolling over in his grave since he gave his life up to support our current level of cowardice.

Currently listening to: Hum - Stars
Currently feeling: frustrated

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the Abuse

Posted by bert at 04:20 PM on May 3, 2004.

Now the US is worse than Saddam...

"
Dhia al-Shweiri spent several stints in the prison, twice under Saddam and once under the Americans. He preferred Saddam's torture to the humiliation of being stripped naked by his US guards, he said. Now Mr Shweiri, 30, is a diehard fighter in the Mehdi Army, the anti-US militia of a Shiite Muslim imam

Mr Shweiri said that while jailed by Saddam's regime he was electrocuted, beaten and suspended from the ceiling with his hands tied behind his back.

"But that's better than the humiliation of being stripped naked," he said. "Shoot me here," he added, pointing between his eyes, "but don't do this to us." "

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the Book on Arnold

Posted by bert at 04:22 PM on May 3, 2004.

Sue Me, Asshole

LOL!! i can't believe this is out. ROFL

Currently listening to: Live - I Alone
Currently feeling: apathetic

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the Censorship

Posted by bert at 10:49 AM on May 5, 2004.

First off.. Read this article about the Pat Tillman eulogy. The quotes were honest and to the point, talking about Pat Tillman the person. Not necessary glorifying him, just explaining who he was.

and yet because of the language used.... some stations BROKE FEED!.

"After the first foul-language remark, we honestly didn't think there'd be any others," said Steve Hammel, KPHO (Channel 5) vice president and general manager. "But we were wrong. It just came to a point where we thought that our viewers should not be hearing that type of language on the air."


I'm amused.. but saddened..

Anyway.. the quote in question.

"Pat isn't with God,'' he (Pat's brother) said. "He's fucking dead. He wasn't religious. So thank you for your thoughts, but he's fucking dead.''

Currently feeling: amused

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the Compassion of Bush.

Posted by bert at 08:25 AM on May 6, 2004.

This is something you won't see in liberal newspapers. Might not even see on Fox. But... Bush shows compassion. Really folks.. he's not the "Evil dictator" that Ted Rall makes him out to be.

a Liberal explains the idiocy of Rall.
"Rall's wrong. He doesn't understand how patriotism works, or how a democratic nation goes to war. Wrong or right, we decided, as a nation, to go to war. We had a public debate. The Congress authorized it. The President ordered it. In short, through democratic processes the country called, and those who answered that call are patriots, not saps. Whether the call was correct or not doesn't matter. What matters is that when their country called, they answered, and they deserve our respect and appreciation for that reason."

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the Vegas

Posted by bert at 08:33 AM on May 6, 2004.

ok.. So... i'm finally starting to get excited. I'm making my return trip to Sin City tonight and.. *gasp* and pretty excited about it. I get to turn two more into Craps converts. Staying at the Excalibur because, surprise, it's CHEAP. Yes even cheaper than the Imperial Palace and the Sahara.

Those of you Boeing folks, remember... Our Cross site ahem, "networking" trip is End of June!!!. Get on board, I believe we have about 125 confirmed ALREADY. Come on guys.. Lets take over the town. See ya there. I'm going in for some... uh... "pre-ops" scouting tonight.

Currently feeling: anxious

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the GMail Invite

Posted by bert at 09:26 AM on May 6, 2004.

This thing isn' that great.. I have an account.. and barely use it. Because.. *shrug* i'm an outlook/eudora user that just Downloads everything.

1 Gig of webspace isn't necessary for me.

because individual e-mails are limited to 10 mb transfers.

but apparently it's worth a lot..

Jeez... people sell EVERYTHING on ebay.

Currently feeling: complacent

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the Abuse Photos

Posted by bert at 06:33 PM on May 9, 2004.

Something bothers me about these abuse photos.
There is a new set (of 20) of these photos that is being written about by Seymour hersh.

Now.. apparently he wrote about the first set of these photographs, and i guess came in touch with this second set, showing the US military torturing some prisoners.


First off, i Find these pictures horrifically disturbing.

but what i don't get is that none of these photographs have the faces of any of these soldiers. With pictures of the soldiers we can EASILY identify who these sadistic bastards are and bring them under proper action.

But what is more disturbing is how Hersh is even getting his hands on these photos? The way the pictures are being taken obviously shows that they are being taken from an American Soldier perspective.

And obviously these photos had to be developed somehow....
obviously these photos had to come to hersh somehow

OBVIOUSLY we can find out who the fuck committed these sadistic acts.

or...

they could be staged.

Now I think this is incredibly hypocritical of Hersh one way or another.

Here's why.
If he's getting it direct from the source (from teh soldier that took them), he's publishing the photos and telling the american public about this incredible inhuman treatment the soldiers are administrating.

He's telling Rumsfeld that there is some sort of problem with the department of defense, that the rules prevent the soldiers from performing these rediculous tortures, and yet won't provide the military the proper information about WHO the sick fuck is.

If he's getting it from someone disgusted about what is happening, they would have stepped forward and made teh announcement, some way some how. Hersh wouldn't have been the "ideal" choice. Besides... Military internet use is monitored. they would know who e-mailed hersh the photos, and could investigate into who took the photos in the first place.

Maybe he's getting it from someone who is sympathetic with the terrorist operations. they wouldn't send it to hersh for him to write an article, they would go after the sick fucks and blow them to kingdom come.

or... Maybe, these photos are staged. We don't see a face, and there are many inconsistancies with the other photo sets that Hersh displayed. Frankly, he doesn't know. Hell.. I could photoshop the images to look like anyone is doing anything.

Anyway.. here's the thing
If Hersh really believes what he writes as true.
he would do one of the following:

1.) Hand over teh negatives used from the film if he has them
2.) Hand over the original photographs that were developed (so the military could track down where they came from)
3.) Inform the investigation team about who it was that sent these to him, to help find who these asswipes is.

It makes sense.. but it won't happen..
Which is why i think the photos are staged..


Edit: wirting with not enough information is a bad thing. The photos that were available were enough to reveal the identies of a few soldiers, meaning that they are real and that we SHOULD be disgusted. There were a set of fake ones depicting british soldiers, but these have true ammunition bheind them and Rumsfeld will probably be scapegoated for this. Sadly, this will be my generation's "vietnam." What i mean by this is that this will be our national sense of trauma. While what we did initially (war with Iraq) is right, we have ruined a lot of our 'good deeds'.

But all is not lost....

Currently feeling: upset

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the Iraq Model

Posted by bert at 10:05 AM on May 10, 2004.

I am 24. I should be blogging about other things. The Girlfriend, the weekend in Vegas, why work sucks, rediculous gas prices, the Beach, the girls in SoCAL.. ANYTHING... but no..

This is perhaps the biggest continuing dilemma in my life, and I have no control over it. I can only speculate and try to dig through the bullshit and see if what I am suspecting, and guessing is right.

What disappoints me more is that these events is going to be the events that define my generation. Only my generation doesn't care about the world in general, just their version of it. We have become completely self-centered.

Anyway.. back to reality, and what I have been doing this morning...
I've been reading this Blog on Iraq from an Iraqi perspective.

It speaks true, because we know that not ALL soldiers do this.. that this is the exception and not the rule. The fact that the terrorists will take this and run with it, will not surprise me in the least. The fact that CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, etc are taking this to "boost" their sweeps numbers also is not a surprise. But the fact that the few people that care thing this is the norm does bother me... And it bothers me deeply.

Currently feeling: Bothered

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the Improper Behavior of a Sexual Nature

Posted by bert at 11:19 PM on May 10, 2004.

this is from the associated press

' The president was shown a "representative sample" of photos, including pictures not yet seen by the public, a senior defense official said, adding that some showed humiliation of prisoners and "improper behavior of a sexual nature," the official said '

Now I just want everyone to remember Bill Clinton and his "inappropriate" nature.
From his Court Procedings...

"When I was alone with Ms. Lewinsky on certain occasions in early 1996 and once in early 1997, I engaged in conduct that was wrong. These encounters did not consist of sexual intercourse. They did not constitute sexual relations as I understood that term to be defined at my January 17th, 1998 deposition [in the Jones case.] But they did involve inappropriate intimate contact. These inappropriate encounters ended, at my insistence, in early 1997. I also had occasional telephone conversations with Ms. Lewinsky that included inappropriate sexual banter."


Anyway.. Just want to remind people that some soldiers in Iraq, while inexcusable in what they did to the prisoners, do not constitute Bush as being responsible. At the same time... the hypocracy that is the Media is ok with Clinton and his "inappropriate" behavior.

Perhaps this is the difference that 9/11 and "nipplegate" make. Or perhaps I am digging too far. But Bush and Rumsfeld are not and cannot be responsible for those sick, despicable actions.

Currently feeling: disgusted

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the Light at the End of the Tunnel

Posted by bert at 01:38 PM on May 12, 2004.

Courtesy of Iraq The Model

Last Friday my oldest uncle, along with his 16-year-old son, visited us, as he used to do this once every month. My uncle is a high school manager and a history teacher at the same time in the same school. I saw that he was wearing a nice suit that I haven’t seen him wearing before. I said "Nice suit uncle. Is it new?" He said "Yes, I bought it about a month ago". "It must be expensive" I asked and he replied, "Yes it is, but your uncle now can afford it".

Some of the readers may remember me saying something about my uncle. Before the war he was in the same job and he was paid about 15 thousands Iraqi Dinars that was equal to about 7 US$ a month. His wife, who is also a teacher, was paid a little less than that. He has 5 children; one in primary school three in high school and a girl in college. Of course that salary couldn’t help him support his family, yet he didn’t quit it. He always hoped that things would change for the better. In order to meet life requirements and offer his kids a proper education, he had to work after school. He worked in every kind of business; a taxi driver, a grocer and opened a small shop for a while, but things didn’t go quite well.

He had to sell his car first, then his ‘extra’ refrigerator then the only refrigerator then the TV and then and then…. The last time we visited him, I had to hold my tears when I entered his house. There was virtually no furniture there, no chairs, no TV no tables, as they sold them all, but what shocked me more is that there were no inside doors. He had to sell those too. I mean his house was literally bare. His kids were ashamed of showing because they had nothing proper to wear. It was amazing how he kept honest and didn’t accept bribery from his rich students’ families.

Back to where I started, I asked my uncle: "How much do they pay you now? I’ve heard you get a raise" He answered "Yes I did, I get payed 550 thousands Dinars now" (that’s about 400$ a month). "And what about aunt?" I asked, meaning his wife "She gets 450 thousands, as she has less years of service". I said "Good for you! What does it look like now, your life?" He said, "Uncle, (the word serves both sides) it’s unbelievable. I’ve refurnished my house fully and I’m looking for a car, but I’m not in haste as I can’t drive now and I want it for Ibrahim (his son) as soon as he can get a driving license". His sons and daughters were always very polite and never asked for anything, they were very understanding to their father’s financial difficulties (the right word here should be EXTREEM poverty) they were smart and well educated and never asked for something their father couldn’t afford.

I said "You must’ve saved quite a good sum of money by now" He answered "Not that much, I’m trying to give my sons all that they were deprived of for all those years. Still they don’t ask much and I still end up every month with extra money even though I don’t touch my wife’s salary". I must say here that life in Iraq is very cheep compared to most of the world, but that has become a common knowledge I suppose.

My young cousin is a religious Sunni who goes to the mosque and listens to the cleric there every Friday and believes whatever he says, as he’s still young. My uncle always teased his son about this but never prohibited him from doing that. We were talking about different stuff; the kids’ needs, clerics, Americans and the increase in the average income of most Iraqis. My uncle had some unusual sense of humor that didn’t fit quite well in his somewhat religious family. He winked at me and turned to his son and asked him "What do you think of the Americans?" His son answered, "They are occupiers". "So you think we should fight them?" his father asked. Ibrahim said "No, but I don’t like them". My uncle said, pretending to change the subject "Do you like your new computer that no one shares with you?" "Yes of course dad". "Ok, are you satisfied with the satellite dish receiver we have or do you need a better one?" "This one is fine but I heard there’s a better one that gets more channels" "ok I’ll get you that next week". Then he said, "Is there anything else you’d like to have son?" "No dad I have all that I need". "Ok but how about a car?" Ibrahim was astounded and said "Really? a..a CAR.. for me!?". "Of course for you! I’m too old to drive now and my eyes are not that well and you are the older son. So whom else would it be for!?" "Oh, dad that will be great! When will that happen?" "Just finish you’re exams and you’ll have it". "I will dad". "Are you happy now son?" "Yes dad, sure I am!" "Then why do you hate the Americans you son of a b***h!? I couldn’t get you a bicycle a year ago, I could hardly feed you and your brothers and sisters. You didn’t know what an apple or a banana tasted like, I couldn’t buy you a damned Pepsi bottle except in occasions, and now you can have all that you wish, and a car of your own! Who do you think made that possible!?" My cousin’s face turned red and didn’t answer as we laughed and I said "What do you think Ibrahim?" He said, "Well it’s true but it’s our money. They are not giving us a charity" and I said "Of course it’s our money, so let’s forget the Billions of dollars they are giving to rebuild Iraq and the efforts they are doing to cut down our debts and lets talk about our money. Why didn’t your father, I, my brothers and all the Iraqis have anything worth mentioning before the Americans came?" He said, "Because Saddam used it to buy weapons and build palaces". "There you have it Ibrahim, but Americans are not touching our money. Can you tell me who’s better; the ‘occupiers’ who are helping us or the ‘patriot’ who did all that you know to us?" He said in a faint voice "They are better than Saddam but still they are not Muslims". "So do you want them to be Muslims?" "I wish they were." "Will you fight them to that?" he said, "No, of course not. I don’t like fighting." We didn’t want to pressure and embarrass him further and didn’t go further, as he’s still young but he’s smart and good-natured and will get it soon.

Currently listening to: Pearl Jam - Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in

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the Former MVP, Kirby Puckett

Posted by bert at 02:56 PM on May 13, 2004.

Man.. that boy loves him some 3-card poker. Over the weekend I ended up in Las Vegas playing Paigow, while waiting for some friends to finish up their Craps binge *cough* davin... *ahem..*

Lo and behold, next table over, Kirby Puckett and his new girlfriend (the one he doesn't beat) sits down and is playing $10 hands of 3 card poker. Suffice to say, I find it very amusing that his girlfriend was playing $25 hands, and doing MUCH better than him.

Currently feeling: amused

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the Wedding, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Posted by bert at 09:02 AM on May 17, 2004.

Anna's cousin, Dolly got married this weekend in Long Island, New York. I went, along with pretty much all of Anna's mother's side of the family to go celebrate.

First the Wedding.

Congrats Keith and Dolly. You two are great together, and I am extremely happy for the both of you. You're wedding was BEAUTIFUL, and the gods obviously smiled upon you with the perfect afternoon along the pier for your wedding. A perfect 72 degrees out with nothing but sun shining down on you. I would wish you guys luck, but you don't need it. You two are obviously in love and this will work out great. I can't wait for your kids to grow up confused... On one side they are heir to a "godfather" mafia legacy. On the otherside you have crazy chinese people. One thing is for sure. Your kids will know how to make noodles with the best of them =).

the Witch.
A certain somebody's mom, who's name shall not be spoken. Needs to put her hands on EVERY damn thing. First off.. it's none of her damn business.. she royally pisses off everyone and THEIR mothers (literally). No offense to anna, but... I think if we get married, there will need to be some sort of "mother" clause in a pre-nup. I don't care about the money, but that woman drives me nuts... Poor Julie who needed to go to the bathroom, and when there... her mom was STALKING the stall she was in. Pretty embarrassing considering we were in a PUBLIC Rest area along the freeway.... And there is more... much more.....

the Wardrobe.

Apparently at 24, I still can not dress myself. Since they weren't sure if we were going jacket/no jacket, I brought my suit and white shirt combo along with a standalone grey shirt with pinstripes number. Last minute, we decide.. No jackets, so I go with the grey shirt and charcoal tie. I get upstairs, and "the Mom" goes nuts on me and tells me how "ugly" the grey shirt is. She wants me to go back downstairs and change into the white shirt. And she tells me the charcoal tie is bad too and makes me wear my red tie. Man... is their a more BORING attire you can wear to a wedding...... Lets see.. black suit, white shirt, red tie. NOPE.

Anyway, the rest of the weekend was pretty good. I got to hang out with Anna again. We got to chat, and play, and just chill and do nothing together. That was great. I got to meet the rest of her family, which outside of her mom, i really do enjoy. I like the cousins a lot and they are a lot of fun.
It was nice to be on the east coast again. I don't know why, but I really like the way the East Coast is. Even teh traffic wasn't horrible.

Our bus to Long Island was CRAZY. that thing was made before they invented shocks. Every crack in the road we felt. My butt was so sore when we got to the wedding.

Aside from that... not much going on.. It was a crazy weekend, jampacked with rediculous flight schedules.

I ran into Robin Munesato at LAX of all places. She just came off her flight from NC to visit her parents and watch her friends get married... And she got off the same plane i was boarding.. What a small world. Congrats to her and Wei En who are getting married in October. =)

Currently feeling: content

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the WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

Posted by bert at 08:52 AM on May 18, 2004 in politics.

The U.S Military has found weapons of mass destruction (in this case Sarin gas as well as a seperate Mustard gas case) in Iraq.

Of course, most people wouldn't know about it, because it was BURIED in the other "big news" of the day. CNN had a frontpage link available for 4 hours max. (I didn't see it when i woke up at 6:30 a.m., I saw it at 7:30 a.m. and then at 11:00 a.m. it was gone). Anyway, at least i have the Fox News Link still. Read about the Chemical weapons here.

WHAT THE FUCK!!!

Seriously... talk about lopsided media bias. But most importantly, after a year of harping about not finding these weapons (what did they think... they would stroll in and stumble all over these things?), we HAVE found them, we have pictures of them WORKING, about them causing INJURY to AMERICANS, and today, one day later, CNN doesn't mention it at all.

Just FYI, here are the current "top stories" at cnn.com

MORE TOP STORIES

• TV icon Tony Randall dead at 84

• CNN/Money: Average gas price above $2 a gallon | Video

• Sonia Gandhi says she won't lead India | Video

• Bremer eulogizes slain Iraqi council chief | Video

• Israeli tanks roll into Gaza | Video

• New York among five finalists for 2012 Olympics

• Busy hurricane season predicted | Deadliest U.S. storms

• CNNRadio: 9/11 panel hearing

• We have a winner...


The frontpage story? 9/11 investigation panel has discovered that there was some communication problems amongst the rescuers that hampered the rescue operations.

really now? I couldn't imagine why there would be communication problems... It took a panel of experts to tell you what I could have told you from day 1. In situations like that (Mass scrambling), there are bound to be some "communication" issues.

But the REAL communication problem is the one between the American public and the American media. They try to tell us what to think, and hope beyond all hope that we are stupid enough to believe them. If we let the media run this country, it would be run purely on hindsight, questions of what ifs, and other travesties, shams, and mockerys.

It's a TRAVSHAMOCKERY!.


but there is a glimmer of hope. Al Jazeera showed Bush apologizing for those awful prison photos. they showed Rumsfeld tell them that they would get to the bottom of the situation and those involved would be punished. In a country of free speech, the other side of the story was told by a network that is affiliated with the wrong side.

Bush knows the war he's fighting here on the homefront is just one of words. The one in Iraq is the true war, and that's the one we can't afford to lose. Apparently the Iraqis are understanding this too.
Borrowed from Iraqthemodel
"That's why we'll keep moving forwards because we're building a model for democracy here, we've sacrificed a lot in the last decades and we're ready to give more if needed but we're not giving up."

Currently listening to: Creed - With Arms Wide Open
Currently feeling: ehhh

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the Right Guy for the Job

Posted by bert at 08:58 AM on May 19, 2004 in politics.

"I am a proud Republican. I'm a Barry Goldwater Republican. I revere Ronald Reagan and his party of limited government. Sadly, that party is no longer. The current version of the Republican party is engaged in an outrageous spending binge and they're being steadied and encouraged by the Democrats... Ten years ago, in 1994, Republicans won control of both Houses of Congress. For one brief shining moment, we employed true fiscal restraint and eventually managed to balance the budget and even attain that which had seemed unattainable - a surplus! Now, at a time of national crisis, we have thrown caution to the wind and continue to spend, and spend, and spend - all the while cutting taxes. The perfect evidence of this is the number of Congressional earmarks found in the 13 annual appropriations bills. In 1994 there were 4,126 earmarks - this year there were 14,040 earmarks. Where are our priorities?"
- Senator John McCain.

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the Sleep

Posted by bert at 01:11 PM on May 19, 2004 in ME.

Why is it that the nights I get about 5-6 hours of sleep, I feel GREAT and full of energy? And then days like today, where i had 7-8 hours of sleep, I am completely sluggish?

No clue. But someone mentioned sleep cycles.

Did you know that supposedly, for optimal metabolism, you are supposed to sleep 10 (TEN!!!) hours a day? this can be a 8 hour night with a 2 hour nap. but 10 hours!?!??! crazy.

Currently feeling: sleepy

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the Carfire

Posted by bert at 01:16 PM on May 19, 2004 in ME.

I saw my first carfire this morning on my way to work.

I this sort of "accident in wait" all the time on the freeways out here in California.

Basically it's two cars seperated by an empty lane. Both cars don't signal and will merge into the middle lane. One of both usually swirves back into their original lane.

Well... not today.

Car 1: Some saturn (SC-3? or whatever their "sports car" model is called)

Car 2: 18 wheeler.

Scenario.

18 wheeler goes from 2nd lane and merges into 3rd lane.
Saturn doesn't pay attention, after 18 wheeler is about 80% in or so.. Saturn floors the gas and merges in to the 18 wheeler's tires.

The engine of the saturn is FLATTENED... starts smoking.. and voil!!! we have FIRE!

30 minutes later after they cleared the roads... I continue to drive to work.

Let me tell you. Burning Plastic is not a great smell to have in the morning.

Currently feeling: sleepy

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the Real Islam?

Posted by bert at 08:53 AM on May 20, 2004 in musings.

In regards to the Nick Berg Beheading... There will always be the Muslims that say... "this isn't what most of us are like. They do not represent us. We are peaceful..." Or something to that effect. Yes... Maybe.. but this is your Holy Script...

"When you meet the unbelievers, strike off their heads; then when you have made wide slaughter among them, carefully tie up the remaining captives." Surat Mohammed:4

Currently feeling: distraught

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the Iraqi Doctor

Posted by bert at 09:02 AM on May 20, 2004 in politics.

more scouring of Blogs on THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE of our day....

from HealingIraq


"A number of renown Iraqi specialist doctors have expressed their outrage over the Iraqi, Arab, and international public reaction to the images of abused prisoners at Abu Ghraib. This following an alarming increase in the number of assassinations and abductions of Iraqi intellectuals and top medical professionals recently in Baghdad.

"They scream and whine about abuse of prisoners, most of who are criminals, but I don't recall anyone mentioning what we have gone through let alone condemning it, which was much worse. Now they are openly calling the Americans to release thousands of those criminals from Abu Ghraib.", a relative of ours told us a couple of days ago. He was kidnapped months ago and held for 2 weeks, after which his family paid a large ransom. Now he is considering leaving Iraq after he had recieved threats. He has already been offered a job as a professor in a Medical college in Europe.

Dr. Jawad Al-Shakarchi, a famous ophthalmologist was beaten together with his wife in front of his own house by armed assailants and was then forced to pay a ransom of $30,000. He left Iraq shortly following his release. Dr. Walid Al-Khayyal, a world famous Iraqi nephrologist specialised in kidney surgery and implantation immigrated to the UK immediately after his release a few weeks ago. He mentioned that his kidnappers tortured him and urinated in his mouth several times in an attempt to break his will. He refused to disclose the sum he paid for ransom. Dr. Abdul Hadi Al-Khalili, a specialist in brain surgery, is still suffering from severe psychological trauma and depression because of the humiliation he experienced by his captors and the large sum he paid in order to save his life. Dr. Raysan Al-Fayyadh, a general surgeon, was kidnapped by 15 gunmen in 3 cars. His family paid his captors $50,000 after he had sustained fractures in his nose and left arm after a whole week of torture.

Other gangs have resorted to blackmailing doctors monthly in return for their personal safety. The target is often threatened with death or abduction of a family member in case he doesn't comply with their demands. Eventually, this lead to rivalry and disputes between gangs competing for wealthier targets, often settled by assigning 'areas of influence' to each gang

A long list of specialists and doctors whom had immigrated abroad to escape the hegemony of organised crime groups was released by several concerned specialists. The list includes names such as Sarmad Al-Fahad, Riyadh Al-Sakini, Mudhaffar Karkachi, Mizhir Al-Douri, Mudhaffar Habboush, Talib Khairallah, Sinan Al-Azawi, Adil Al-Qaisi, Ayad Shafiq, and Hussam Jarmuqli. The Iraqi Medical Association organised a sit-in Saturday protesting the public's silence to the dangers they were confronting everyday, and calling upon the GC, Ministry of Interior, religious, tribal, and political groups to put an end to it, warning them of the grave consequences to the country if the immigration of Iraqi specialists and intellectuals abroad continues.

As much as 500 Iraqi intellectuals and specialists have been reportedly assassinated since April 2003, and a much larger number have been abducted. Several groups have been accused. Insurgents, criminals, fundamental religious groups, foreign terrorists, even Israelis. GC member Muhsin Abdul Hamid mentioned the phenomenon a week ago for the first time in public, decribing it as an "international plot against Iraq". However, the reluctance of the IP to assume their duties and the spread of lawlessness is to blame. Several gangs have been captured only to be released after a few days because of threats against the police force. In Tannuma, Basrah, an IP station was surrounded by an armed group related to several prisoners detained at the station. A tribal sheikh leading the group talked to the IP officer and told him to release his 'boys'. When the officer tried to explain to him that the prisoners they were holding were looters and bandits, the sheikh responded "So what? You know they're only trying to support their families". The officer was forced to release the prisoners when the sheikh threatened to return with heavier weapons. The reason the officer relented is because he also lives in the same area, and he or his family might be later harmed by relatives of the criminals.

Some tribal sheikhs have condemned other tribes for this behaviour, and several have vowed upon themselves to disown or punish any of their tribesmen connected with banditry or criminal behaviour, and to lose the protection and sanctuary of one's tribe is the worst kind of punishment that can be inflicted on an individual in rural parts of Iraq. That is why the former regime relied on tribal leaders rather than the police force to maintain order in the country.

Tribal laws sometimes border on the surreal. For example, when a thief breaks into your house and you succeed in injuring or killing him, his tribe would contact you asking for a diyya (a specific sum of money to be payed to a tribe for it's reputation and esteem to be restored) otherwise you would have to face the consequences. There are some ridiculous stories related to this practice, like a few months ago, this incident at the Basrah university; a herd of bulls was passing through an area of campus where some powerlines construction work was going on, a bull was electrocuted when it tripped over and damaged a power cable. The bull belonged to a tribe of former Marsh Arabs who had settled in the area recently. An angry sheikh came to the dean demanding a diyya for the dead bull. The dean was at a loss. He couldn't convince the sheikh that he had nothing to do with the accident. The university ended up paying the tribe for their dead bull.

I suppose I will have to write a post some time about tribes and their controversial role in Iraqi society."

Currently feeling: nothing

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the Manipulation of Stocks

Posted by bert at 05:38 PM on May 24, 2004 in ME.

this is why people are pissed with corporate scandals.

Insider information.

But it makes me feel great to see it.

I've been following Level 3 Technologies (ticker: LVL3) for awhile since... I work with them and like their people and think they know their stuff.

Today their stock started at 3.30 a share, and proceeded to steadily dive to 3.15 throughout the day. last couple minutes of the trading period the stock bottomed out to 2.95 and then.....


12-May-04 CROWE, JAMES Q.
Chief Executive Officer 100,000 Purchase at $2.95 - $2.98 per share. $297,0002
12-May-04 OHARA, KEVIN J.
President 32,800 Purchase at $2.97 - $2.99 per share. $98,0002
12-May-04 MILLER, CHARLES C.III
Vice Chairman 32,800 Purchase at $2.97 per share. $97,416
11-May-04 STORTZ, THOMAS C.
Executive Vice President 17,000 Purchase at $2.9697 - $2.97 per share. $50,0002
11-May-04 PATEL, SUNIT S.
Chief Financial Officer 15,555 Purchase at $2.9601 - $2.97 per share. $46,0002
11-May-04 PATEL, SUNIT S.
Chief Financial Officer 15,000 Purchase at $2.967 - $2.97 per share. $45,0002

things that make you go hrm........

Currently feeling: amused

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the Media Blame Game (I'm all Ears)

Posted by bert at 09:07 AM on May 25, 2004 in politics.

Taken in complete form from IRAQ the Model

It’s easy for anyone to hate, criticize and complain of the bad situations but it’s difficult to love and work to overcome the hardships. I’ve been accused many times of being over optimistic and unrealistic while my country is passing through a critical period and the future of the region and the world is going to be affected by the result of this war.
I know this well and I feel it everyday when I deal with people; I’m in the middle of this and I can see the dangers and the coming difficulties, but is this my duty?!
The point here is that I’m trying to work hard to overcome the difficulties. I’m not going to blame others all the time or put the responsibilities for what happens on others as this will not push the progress forwards, instead, I’m trying to look through the smoke of the battle to see tomorrow’s Iraq.
When an old regime is dying, it will do anything, not to come back but to hinder the birth of the new being and the old regime’s battle is going to be costly and cruel but it’s certainly a defeat and I see this everyday, when someone thinks that terror is proving itself as a power and strikes violently I see that it’s moving backwards despite the loss we endure.
The process of change is moving onwards and it’s going to leave behind lots of minds and powers that failed to catch up with it.
The difficulty of the situation lies in the complexity of anti-change alliances.
Yes, it’s always easy to look for the bad events and show them to the public like most media sources do but this is not my duty and this is not what I believe in.
I find those who try to spread the bad impression unable to do anything but to hate and their main objective is to spread hatred to the public opinion to make it an international policy that will lead us only to doom. They don’t offer alternatives neither they ask you to think deeper to find a solution for the problems you have. They just want you to hate and hate and to stop your brains from reasoning things out.
This reminds me of a friend of mine who’s house was the target for a grenade attack a few days ago (we thank God, no one was hurt) just because he works to build this country with the coalition. He said “Ok, I’m ready to leave this job, but those who attacked my house, what are they going to offer as an alternative? They just want to see everyone paralyzed with fear and hate”.
Love, is another subject, it demands that you think a lot, fight against what you are told about "the others" and to give a lot for others. Building love takes more time and keeping the faith in it requires patience and sacrifices and a vision that exceeds the limits of today or tomorrow and this is what the losers can’t afford, that’s why they chose the easier road of hollow criticism that lacks the spirit and creativity and this would be obvious if you looked closer at the nature of the efforts that counter act the changing process, they provide no alternatives at all or sometimes, with great foolishness, try to compare the current situation with the previous one or to go back to it saying that things were better then.
Some say that the US must withdraw from Iraq right now for the best of Iraqis; I say, Ok, the US withdrew from Somalia long time ago and what was the result? What’s Somalia like now?
Humanity, in it’s nature has an inclination to move forwards and those people are acting against this nature and once again I tell you that their job is very easy and it won’t need much to be done while my job is a hard one that needs a lot but I’m not giving it up.
A prosperous and democratic Iraq will be a reality; it’s just a matter of time. Everyone should believe in this, more than this, we should start to feel it from this moment and the obstacles we’re facing right now will be a history that we would only discuss in the future to get some lessons from.
Finally, I have a question to the anti-change and to our friends in the biased media wherever they might be; if all your stories were true and if we were wrong about everything we did, what suggestions would you offer to make things better? what are your plans?
What?! What did you say? I'm listening.

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Followup: the Manipulation of Stocks

Posted by bert at 06:28 PM on May 25, 2004 in ME.

So yesterday I blogged about Level 3 Technologies (Ticker: LVL3) and how it seemed that their executive management was manipulating stock prices for their gain.

Today... 1 day later, lets check on the progress of L3.

added 8 percent to $3.22 during day trading hours.
Up to 3.30 +0.08 (2.48%) in afterhours trading.

not bad for ONE DAY's profit...


and they wonder why people are pissed.....

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the Terrorists Pictures

Posted by bert at 03:03 PM on May 27, 2004 in politics.

Well.. i know they were supposed to be released yestereday. Around 2p.m. EST. But some people are hard at work and couldn't see the links. You would think something this important would be kept in the mainstream for awhile. You know so the public would definitely see it if they happened to miss it.

Well.. I couldn't find it on CNN. I couldn't find it at the NYTimes, or the LA Times, or the Chicago Tribune. I looked at the Washington Post. I looked at ABC.com CBS.com, NBC.com. No no and no.
Hell.. It wasn't until i started digging at foxnews.com did i find it.

Anyway... Point of the story is, media has their own agenda and will tell you what they want you to know. Things like this that could be important to you or me, and made unimportant. That's just dissappointing...

Currently feeling: disappointed

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the Anti-Camera-Phones?

Posted by bert at 03:25 PM on May 27, 2004 in ME.

i'm always amused by these types of articles..

camera phones for peeping toms

now, there are plenty of valid points, but read very closely at the bottom.

They snuck a dig in on Rumsfeld. Not exactly the smartest guy in the world....

"Earlier this week, an Australian newspaper reported that Secretary Of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has banned cam-phones from military installations in Iraq, over concerns that some of the prison abuse photos were taken with camera phones. "


The funny thing about this is...
Rumsfeld has NOT banned the camera phones...

THAT was a made up story. Read here

Doesn't it make you question the integrity of the "reporters" covering the story?
to back up their stories they use spoofed sources.. it's like referencing the onion. LOL

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the Work Week From Hell

Posted by bert at 05:01 PM on May 28, 2004 in ME.

So.. My week from hell is now over.

Basically this week, I went to work for 15, 16, 18, 14, and 8 hours. (70 hours). It sucked, but it was kinda expected and definitely anticipated.

Yet.. I was thinking about it... It's really not that bad compared to what I was pulling in college. In fact... My last semester of school, everyday I was putting in at least 12 hours to take care of projects. (eNculcate + HP Openview). Or going to and prepping for interviews and whatever. And then there was the 18 hours/day workweek leading up to Senior Design. What a big difference a year makes neh? So I know while there are those of you still in school and my 70+ hour work week doesn't seem "all that bad..." It still sucks =P

Currently feeling: excited

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the WEEKEND!

Posted by bert at 05:08 PM on May 28, 2004 in ME.

So on the Radio station I listen to in the mornings (Jamie and Danny in the morning) they've been having a weekly friday skit where they have a 4 or 5 year old boy come tell everyone about newly debuting movies. they chat with him some, and it generally pretty cute.

This week, since memorial day is coming up, they asked him whether or not he knew why we celebrated memorial day.

His answer, "We celebrate Memorial Day because once it happens, we can wear white again."

What a LA Cultivated Joan Rivers-esque answer. Suffice to say... I almost got into a car accident.

Later in his little bit, he was talking about "The Day After Tomorrow"

Natural Disasters hit the earth, blah blah blah. New York is frozen over after a large Tsunami Hits. "The main Character is a Paleo-Climatologists who digs through Arctic New York for his son."

Danny (Bonaduce!) goes, "what did you just say?"
Kid "He looks for his son"
Danny "no, Before that."
Kid "Paleo-Climatologist"
Danny "Do you even know what a Paleo-whatiscalled is?"
Kid "yeah, he's a scientists who studies prehistoric weather patterns like the ice age."
Danny "you know what a Paleo-whatitsface is but don't know what Memorial day is for? Unbeleivable"
Kid "no.. Mommy says Memorial day is so we can wear white again!"

Thank God I had already arrived into the Boeing Parking lot by this time...

Currently feeling: excited

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